Fifteen-year-old Jim Hay believes that war is a glorious adventure and cannot wait for his turn to fight. But as his father marches off to battle in August 1914, Jim must be content to record his thoughts and dreams in his journal. All too quickly, however, Jim’s life begins to unravel. His father is killed in action, his mother suffers a breakdown, and when Jim does at last join up, it is as much to find refuge as it is to seek glory. In the trenches of France, his romantic views of war are dispelled, and his longing for adventure is replaced by a basic need to survive.

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